The Darker Side of Me
by TheLemonAlchemist
Summary: Cass is just a normal girl, trying to live a normal life after her family's death. But what will happen when her friends convince her to tag along on their "exploring" trip to try and debunk Slenderman? Rated M for later chapters, and cussing.


**"It wasn't me who chose darkness, but the other way around" -Unknown**

Sometimes in life, you never know what to expect, and perhaps that is what life is all about. You can never truly predict life, you can never hold it in your grasp or say for certain how things will turn out. You can't say that you will major as a fashion designer in collage if fate has other plans for you. You can't say that you will be with your boyfriend or girlfriend forever if the universe deems it not meant to be. But alas these things can work in just the opposite way, you can't say that you will live a happy life with no interruptions...If life decides it wants to put something in your path...

Cassandra made her way home from her work place, it had been another boring day of unpacking boxes, stacking shelves, and listening to her fellow coworkers being yelled at by ignorant customers. She had to clear her mind at least 5 times that day of rather unpleasant thoughts that had entered her mind while listening to the annoying voices of the ranting customers, her stomach felt uneasy as the thoughts rushed back to her once more, she wasn't sure why her mind had change in such a way, but it frightened her. Entering her home she was greeting with silence from the other occupants, her grandparents were not too fond of her you see, after her family's passing she was sent to live with them. Now, she knew little of her grandparents for they had not liked her father and therefor refused to come around often, and due to her being her father's daughter, their dislike of him, now fell upon her. The only words they ever really spoke were simply to ask her when she would be moving out, or that a girl her age should be married and living with her husband. Sighing she made her way to her room; she had never asked for any of this, she had a happy life before, she didn't ask for that fire to happen, she didn't ask to be the only survivor...She wasn't even sure why she was. Laying on her bed she reached over and picked up the family portrait that lie atop her night stand, she stared at the smiling faces of her mother, her father, and her little sister. Why was she the only one who got out of the house? Her bedroom was on the 2nd floor, yet all she remembers is waking up gasping for breath due to the smoke and falling unconscious once more...When she awoke again, she was outside with paramedics rushing to her, the firemen later told her that they couldn't get any of the others out. She suffered no broken bones so she hadn't climbed out of her window, nor did she suffer from any burns. Sighing once more she placed the picture back in it's place and closed her eyes, her head always hurt when she tried to think about that night, try to piece things together. Whenever she delved too deep it was like she was falling into a sea of nothingness; her mind was simply a blank, like a static tv that couldn't pick of any channels. It was only the soft piano music that brought her back to the surface as she rolled over and grabbed her cell phone.

"Hello?" she answered

"Heeeeeeeeeeey" The male voice replied on the other end

"Hey Dan, what's up?" she asked while she listened to the voices of her other friends on the line.

"Nothin much Cass, we were wondering if you wanted to come with us on a little exploring date" he replied, you could hear the smile in his voice

"what kind of exploring date?" she asked, a little skeptic

"It's a surprise Cass, you in or out?"

"Alight, I guess I'm in" she replied hearing her friend tell the others which was soon followed by loud wooting

"Alight we'll be at your house in five minutes"

"Ok, see ya then" And with that they ended the call, standing, she began to change clothes. With it already being 5:30 she knew that she would be out for most of the night, she was still unsure as to what her friends had planned but knowing them, it was something crazy. Throwing on her white button up; black tie, black sweater, black skinnies, and black combat boots, she made her way downstairs just as she heard the car pull up.

"I'm going out with friends!" she called to her most likely unlistening grandparents as she exited the house. Her friends were already calling for her as she stepped off of the front porch, Lilly and Emma sat in the back of Mark's mustang while Dan sat in the passengers seat.

"So...where are we going?" She asked as she squeezed in beside Emma

"We are going to go debunk something" Dan said as he turned around and put a camera in her face before he began narrating

"And this ladies and gentlemen, is our last little explorer, Cass, Cass say hi to all the watchers"

"Hello watchers, I am still clueless about what the dumbass Dan has planned" she replied as the car erupted into laughter.

"Now that's not nice at all Cass" Dan said faking hurt, Cass simply rolled her eyes

"Ok so here is what we are going to do" Mark piped up as Dan turned the camera to him.

"There is a bag in the trunk with five flashlights, we are each gonna get one and go into the woods near Old Stein Road."

"Wait...You don't mean we are actually going to look for him right?" Lilly asked looking at Mark and Dan who has obviously come up with this plan without telling any of the girls.

"Really guys? He is just a photoshop contest entry, the only thing we are going to find is wild animals" Emma chimed in, Cass now knew what this plan was and could only shake her head at it. She knew the rumors, had read the stories, and although was a fan of horror, wasn't quite sure if she believed in..

"Slenderman...We are going to go search for Slenderman, really?" She asked shaking her head

"Ok worst case scenario we don't find him and it is a lame night" Mark replied

"How is a boring night the worst case, what if he is real and kills us?" Lilly asked; Ah yes, while Cass was a bit of a skeptic, Lilly was an avid believer, and thus this plan was rather terrifying.

"Relax Lil he's not real" Emma stated matter-of-factly

"Or is he?" Dan asked turning the camera quickly to himself before whispering

"We shall find out" The car ride was somewhat quiet after that except the occidental sex story from Mark or Dan, which only caused Cass to roll her eyes and put in her headphones. She had just began to doze off, the stress of the day finally taking it's toll, when she felt the car stop.

"Ok ladies, we're here" Mark announced as they all got out, Cass stared at the woods, it was pitch black, the boys had of course decided that the new moon was a perfect time to do this, you couldn't even hardly see your hand in front of your face.

"Here you go" Cass heard a shaky voice beside her say, looking over she say Lilly standing there, her hand shaking slightly as she held out a flashlight to her. Taking it, Cass noticed how Lilly had herself wrapped tightly in her black jacket even though it wasn't even cold; her auburn hair was hidden by the hood, expect the few parts that stuck out around her neck, and her green eyes scanned the woods quickly, never settling on one spot.

"Hey, it's gonna be ok, there isn't anything out there" Cass reassured her friend with a hug and kiss to her forehead, Lilly slowly nodded, still looking at the woods. She would never admit it out loud but these woods made her feel uneasy as well, you couldn't see anything in them, but it always felt as if the woods themselves were watching your ever move, waiting for their chance.

"You guys ready?" Dan asked as he readied his camera, they all nodded before advancing forward, Lilly quickly grabbed Cass's arm while she hurried to turn on her flashlight. Cass slung her arm around Lilly's shoulder after she had turned on her flashlight as they came to a stop in front of the woods.

"Ok guys, so here we are in front of Slender woods, all of us have our flashlights" Dan started as he waved his flashlight in front of of the camera.

"And we are now ready to go in, once again you have myself, the awesome camera man" He added making them all roll their eyes.

"My best bud but not as awesome as me Mark, The unphasable Emma, and...The lovers Lilly and Cass" he added snickering, Cass and Lilly just shook their heads

"So...in we go my friends" Dan announced as he began walking forward, the others soon following suit. It didn't take long for the darkness of the woods to swallow them, so that even the outline of the car wasn't visible. While they began to shine their flashlights around, the eerie silence of the woods started to seep in, it was only then did Cass realize.

"These woods are really quiet" she stated as she felt Lilly nod beside her.

"Ya they are, I don't even hear crickets" Mark added

"Maybe we should head out, this seems useless" Lilly spoke up making Dan laugh

"What is the little Lilly afraid?" Dan teased

"That's enough Dan!" Emma to snap at him

"Come on Em, we haven't even been here five minutes" Dan replied before Mark's voice made them all be quiet

"What is that?" Cass shined her flashlight over in the direction Mark was pointing his and she saw what looked to be a piece of paper on a tree.

"Oh no, no, no" Lilly whispered as she backed away

"You've got to be kidding me" Emma replied as Cass moved closer to the picture to read it, it was a simple picture, with a tall stick figure in the bottom right corner, and the words.

"Don't look...Or it takes you" she read out loud

"Nice job setting this all up guys" Emma replied as she walked up to Cass and grabbed the paper before anyone could stop her.

"We didn't put that there Em" Dan replied seeming...A bit scared himself.

"Ya right" Emma replied as she shoved the paper in his chest

"You shouldn't have done that" Cass replied as she looked at Emma.

"Ok BEN, and why not?" Emma asked

"Because...Now you started the game" Cass replied looking at the others, Emma opened her mouth to speak but quickly shut it when they all heard a twig snap behind them.

"Run" Mark whispered as he took off forward, Dan soon following, then Lilly, then Emma, and lastly Cass, she keep looking over her shoulder, even though the words on the paper rang in her head.

_"Don't look...Or it takes you"_

They all had ran for about five minutes before they stopped to catch their breath.

"What do you think that was?" Lilly asked as she gasped for breath

"I don't know" Mark said as he rested his hands on his knees while trying to catch his breath.

"It was probably just an animal, some kid probably put that picture there as a prank" Emma replied

"Ya you're probably right Em" Dan said as he laughed and shined his flashlight around at the group, but stopped upon Cass, who's eyes were wide as she stared forward. Following her gaze with his flashlight, he saw something he didn't want to see...The 2nd page.

"Oh come on! This is not happening! This is not real you guy!" Dan stated raking his hands through his hair, his voice and eyes showing a bit of fear that had creeped inside him. Cass walked forward and gently picked the paper off of the tree; this one simply had a circle, with 2 x's for eyes that read. Always watches...No eyes.

"Ok I say we just head back to the car and go home" Dan said to the group before Cass, Lilly, and Mark all shook their heads.

"we have to finish the game" Mark replied

"Oh come on Mark! Really! You of all people I didn't think would believe this shit!" Dan yelled.

"If we don't finish the game he'll just come find us, we'll be sitting ducks, at least this way we have a chance" Cass replied sternly as she looked around her group. The once strong and confident Dan and Emma now looked a bit worried and frightened, Lilly was almost in a panic, Mark looked scared but ready to continue, and Cass...Cass didn't feel anything, she was unsure why; she should have been scared shitless like her friends, but here she was, feeling as if she needed to lead this group...Maybe that's what made her unafraid...Maybe.

"We need to move, the more pages we get...The closer he'll get" Cass replied as she turned and began walking, she knew the others were unsure, unsure about this "game", unsure about her leading, unsure about the direction she was going...Cass wasn't though, it was like a force was pulling her in a direction, and each time they found a new page, it pulled her in a different one. The had found 7 of the 8 pages now, and they had all began to quicken their pace behind Cass as twigs popped and snapped only inches behind them.

"Just keep your eyes on me" Cass whispered to the group as she spotted the last page on a nearby tree. They made their way to it, and just as Cass reached out to grab it, a deafening static noise rang in their ears. Cass could hear her friends scream as they all drop to the ground and try to cover their ears from the noise that rang inside their heads. Quickly grabbing the page she stuck it in Lilly's hand and looked around, her eyes halting behind them, there, in the darkness of the woods stood the very being they had come here to "debunk".

"Slenderman" she whispered her eyes never leaving him as he began advancing, his long arms swinging ever so slowly while he approached. Cass looked at her friends who were still trying to cover the noise, the static was just as loud in her ears, but she knew she had to hold fast.

"They finished your game! They have the pages! let them go!" She yelled, trying to hear her own voice over the static. The creature looked at her friends, in each of their hands they held two notes, he then looked at her.

"They do indeed have them child...But you...Do not" he spoke in her mind as the static got even louder, her eyes shut at the sound as she dropped to her knees. Was this how she was going to die? At the hands of the Slenderman? Looking up at him once more, the pure white featureless face that stared right at her began to blur, and soon...She fell into darkness.

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><p><strong>I hope you guys enjoyed this, I hope that the next chapter flows just as quickly as this one did lol. Let me know what you think of the story so far guys!<strong>


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